Why this site ?
I had a small collection of electronic chess games. It was a rolling collection: I was selling
my games to buy and try other ones. I only kept very few of these games.

The heroes (1982-1992)
1982-1992 is a period of great competition between the programs becoming stronger. It's a period for heroes:
the developers who innovate and implement on small machines the best concepts coming from the university mainframes.

David Levy is an international chess master. He wrote several books and articles.
His company named "intelligent games" published several chess software between 1980 and 1986. The Milton
was developped by this company,probably by Mark Taylor.

This game was available under different names: "Grandmaster" in the USA, "Phantom" in England and "Milton" in Germany and in
France. This game is the French one: see the text under the buttons.

The Milton was a revolution in 1983. It's a robot moving alone its pieces, with a magnetized arm moving under the chessboard.
It's a very high quality hardware and it works fine today.

This is an historical game ! When it was published, in 1982, the Jeux et Stratégie magazine wrote :
It is better than any other chess computer available today except the Elite. It seems to be a slower release of the
Elite program. A real player, and a good one !

It's a 16K program, running on a 6502 / 1,6 MHz, with an opening library of 3000 half moves.
As an option, two modules were available to increase the opening library: the CB9 and the CB16.
This program, written by Kathe et Dan Spracklen will be later enhanced, especially in speed and
finales, but historically, the CC9 is the first release of one of the best programs ever written in the 80s: the Excel Mach III.

The Super Nine is derived from the Elite A/S (1983). They have a common user manual.
This game speaks French. The software was very strong at that time but it was expensive and the design was a bit ugly.
So this game was not a commercial success.

The Chess Challenger 9 was replaced in 1985 by the Excellence (in 3 and 4MHz) then by the Par Excellence (5 MHz)
and the Excel series.

Compared to the CC9, the progress are significant in every game aspects but it is still missing speed.
Here is a nice test game. So it's
evaluated around 1650-1700 ELO.
The flat box design is not so nice, with only two rows of leds, and later the Excel series
will come back to the CC9 look.

Fidelity Designer 2000

The designer 2000 (1987) contains the Fidelity Excellence program (1985) in a chess board designed
by the Italian artist Franco Rocco. The 2000 number indicates a US estimation of the Elo level.

At the same time, the Designer 1500 included the weak
Chess Challenger 8 program and the Designer 2100 the very good "Par Excellence". In 1990 / 1991, the Excel Mach III and IV
were also proposed as "Designer 2265 master" and "Designer 2325 master".

In 1986, Jeux et Stratégie introduced the Par Excellence:
A lot stronger than the Excellence. 32K program better as the Elite Avant Garde for a low cost. 5MHz clock. Opening library
of 6000 moves. The absolute weapon in the chess computers !.

It played an agressive and efficient game. But with experience, it's possible to find a strategy to beat him:
For instance in my test game, the Par Excellence did not open early enough a closed game
in the centre and did not answer properly to a h pawn attack to break the castling defense.

The two following models were the Excel 68000 (12 MHz) and the Mach II (12 MHz). But they both
had software quality problems and were only a bit better than the Par Excellence.
Only the Mach III (16 MHz)
and the Mach IV (68020 ŕ 20MHz, around 2000 Elo) significantly increased the game level.

Fidelity Designer 2100 / Designer Display

The designer display is a very good game derived from the "par excellence". This
"display" model includes a little LCD screen.
Here is a test game

It looks nice but the grey pieces are losing their color.

Fidelity Chesster Challenger

The Fidelity Chesster Challenger is a Fidelity Par Excellence variant.
The major difference is a large use of a voice synthetizer. The game is making a lot of comments in English,
including some to help beginners. It has a real sense of humour.

After having switch on the game, you can push the h1 square to listen to all the
Chesster vocabulary and it will take around 10 minutes !

Here is a test game. The last comment of the
Chesster was "you won but you took back moves". And of course it was right.

Excel Display (Fidelity)

The Excel Display is packaged like the very good Excel 16 bits serie. But it just includes the
Excellence hardware and software with a LED display added.
The small difference: there are only 15 leds on th chessboard against 64 for the Excel 16 bits serie.

The owner's manual is common to the "Excellence" (model 6080), "Excellence Voice" (6093) and
"Excel display" (6092).
The metallic looking pieces are losing their colour when used (here: b1 c1 b2 f2 h2).

It is still a very interesting software, see this
nice test game, but it can not compete to the world championship.

Excel 68000 (Fidelity)

The Excel 68000 was the first Excel 16 bits. It's a very strong player,
designed for the world championships. It's also the first chess computer using hash tables to improve the finales.
A hash table keeps the different positions evaluated and cut the search tree on the positions already analyzed.
The hash table is a bit small (16Ko) and there are still some programming mistakes, so the game has only a level of
around 1850 ELO.

There are only few design differences between the Excel Display and the Excel Mach III: the
"Chess Challenger" and "Fidelity Electronics" texts are in gold instead of silver and there are 64 leds on the chessboard.
But the inside has nothing in common. The Mach III includes the chef d'oeuvre of Kathe and Dan Spracklen
with a game level of 2000 ELO.
The Jeux et Stratégie magazine described it well: a tiger in a soap box.

By luck, i found a bug helping me to beat it in this
test game but it's a very strong player, very different from the other chess software.
I tested it a lot during the summer 2007 and I lost a lot. But I had 3 victories:
round 2,
round 3 et round 4.

Thomas Nitsche und Elmar Henne

Mephisto I Brikett (Hegener & Glaser)

When the first Mephisto "briquette" appeared in 1981, Jeux et Stratégie wrote: This little black devil is
one of the best machine available today. It can find mate in 4. An excellent price for the value.

The Mephisto I was followed, in 1982, by this Mephisto II. One specificity of this program was its
human style. On this subject, you can read 2 articles in the
Computer Chess Digest 1983 magazine - page 5 : "Humans / Machines comparison test" and page 24 :
" The Mephisto Concept. A Humanlike thinking Chess Program" - written by Thomas Nitsche himself.
I found the mephisto II a bit weaker than the Mephisto I.
See this test game.

This game for sale is in fact the Mephisto I above with 2 modules: the module I out of order
(it hangs after 20/30 mn of use) and the Mephisto II module that works well.

About the Mephisto 2S (a bit faster), Jeux et Strategie wrote: "Level similar to the Sensory 9. Not so good tactically
but better position principles and a good opening library that seems to be build to win against the Sensory 9". Richard,
who had both, compared them in a test game but CC9 won. The Mephisto
III did not make enough progress and H&G hired the English programmer Richard Lang for the Mephisto Amsterdam that became
World champion.

The briquette was entered in the legend, and its name "Mephisto" is still today a reference.

Mephisto Junior
Mephisto Mobil
Mephisto Mobil LCD / MM-3000

Three variants of the Mephisto Briquette:

- Mephisto Junior (1982) is a variant of Mephisto I (weak program
- test game)

- The second Mephisto Mobil has its own LCD screen on the top right.
The magnet pieces are not the original one. It contains the MM3000 module, a variant of the Mephisto III.
The MM-3000 name is indicated on asticker on the back of the module.
But I mainly used it with the MM-V which is
compatible.

This is the first module build for the Mephisto Exclusive / Modular chessboards. In reality, it has no name.
Nothing is indicated on the module and the user manual only indicates: "Modular / Exclusive".

This is a software very similar to the Mephisto III and probably identical to the
MM-3000 sold inside the mephisto Mobil LCD.
A small difference: The Mephisto III is based on a
1802 processor at 6,1 MHz, the MM-I is based on a 1806 at 8 MHz.

It's not easy to understand all the variants of the mephisto 3 project:
There was 2 releases of the Mephisto 3. There was also a
module III-S
for the Glasgow world championship.
And before the mephisto exclusive, there was 2 auto response boards that may be connected to a Mephisto III:
the ESB 3000 and
ESB 6000.

It's an interesting software but it is quite easy to beat it. So it's more for player starting in a club,
see this test game.

Ulf Rathsman

Conchess Ambassador

Ulf Rathsman was discovered with the Conchess Ambassador. The Conchess program was 2nd in
the 1981 world championship after the Elite. This auto-response board Conchess Ambassador was sold around 3000F end 1982.
The program has a similar level as the Chess Challenger 9. See this test game. In 1984, an
opening module was available that clearly improve the game level. the program was also available in a plastic design (Escorter, 2400F)
and as wooden marquetry design 53cmx53cm (Monarch, 4000F).

This game includes the base module called "Conchess". Other modules were produced but they are very rare.
More information on these modules is available on:
www.chesscomputeruk.com.

The Conchess games are fragile and you often have to change
some magnetic sensors "Reed / ILS" or clean the contactors.
Hopefully, the electronic board is very simple and it is quite easy with the help of the 2 following sites:
http://www.ismenio.com ou
http://www.chesscomputeruk.com

The Conchess Escorter is a game smaller than the Ambassador.
It has a nice modern design, in metallic coloured plastic. It's nice to be used because it's an auto-sensory game:
There is no need to push the squares during moves.

The mephisto MM-II has nothing in common with the Mephisto 2. The MM-II is a software from Ulf Rathsmann,
published in 1985 by
H&G, at the same time as the Mephisto 16 bits from Richard Lang, and the Mephisto Mondial from Frans Morsch.
This exclusive chessboard works well, but the user guide is a copy - in English only.

From Jeux et Stratégie, it's tactically very strong, very good to solve problems, very good in blitz
but strategically very weak.
Here is a test game. It is rated 1800 ELO, not so bad !

Yeno 532 XL (1989)

Yeno was a French company specialized in electronic games. The 532 XL was the first computer chess
produced by Yeno.

It contains a very good program from Ulf Rathsman, with an estimated rating of 1850 ELO
and probably very similar to the Mephisto MM-II. It's a program of 32K running on a 65c02 / 4MHz
with an opening library of 3000 positions and a very competitive price
(1200 F). It's still today an impressive player, including mid and end games.
A test game

This game has a damaged box.

Dieter Schultze et Rüdiger Worbs

Chess Master (Radiophon)

The Chess Master was produced in East Germany (DDR) in the mid 80s. It was distributed with a long
instruction manual of 51 pages in German. It was an auto-response board looking robust. It used a u880d processor: a z80 clone
produced in the communist Europe. The software is weak on fast levels but it is becoming a lot better on the best levels.
Here is a test game level 3 . At his level (1 mn 30 per move), it still makes major mistakes.
Here is a test game level 4 . it plays better (3 mn 45 par coup) with an interesting game style.
There is also al level 5 with 8 mn per move.

Kaare Danielsen

Scisys Chess Companion II

The Chess Companion II was introduced in Jeux et Stratégie n°23 (1983): "Correct for the price".
It was sold 990F (150 euros, $200). It contains the famous 4Kb software written by Kaare Danielsen on a 3,6 MHz processor.
From the resume for Kaare Danielsen, variants of this programme were
produced inside 200000 units. It is still used today by Lexibook
(see the wiki schachcomputer.info).

The Concord II was published in 1985 and was an accelerated 7.2 MHz release of the 4Kb
software from
Kaare Danielsen. The same year, Scisys published the Turbostar from Julio Kaplan, a lot stronger and more expensive.

There has been perhaps a Scisys Concord (without II), 2 times slower, but it would be a very rare item. On the
Concord II is written "Concord" and on the back label is written article N° 252.
This is a weak software with a very agressive style;
see this test game.

Tandy 1650 Fast Response Program

The Tandy 1650 Fast Response Program is a variant of the Saitek Concord II. There are two other kind of Tandy 1650 visible
on Overtom' site.

I opened the games to compare the hardware. There are some minor variants. The Tandy game from the picture
has a motherboard REV D. So it is older than the Concord II that has a motherboard
REV E. But there is also a younger Tandy 1650, with a motherboard
REV H. This second Tandy 1650 has a minor packaging difference: the logo
endorsed by The World Chess Federation
was replaced by endorsed by Garry Kasparov - The world Champion. I compared the REV D
and the REV H. The opening phase is very different but later, the game is very similar.

The Scisys Superstar was in 1984 one of the first programs of the junior world champion Julio Kaplan.
It was then followed by the Superstar 28K and the Superstar 36K (1985). It's possible to upgrade the software module
by opening the blue cover.

The Scisys Superstar Superstar 36K (1985) is an imporved release of the Superstar 28K.
The processor is a weak 6502 / 2MHz.
But the 32K (+4K RAM) programme is focused on good positions and it is already a strong opponent.
See this test game.

The Scisys Turbo 16K is from 1985. It's a 16Kb software on a 6301Y processor at 12MHz.
It was the middle range game from Scisys. It plays with a nice style but is quite weak - around 1450 ELO.
Here is a test game.

This game is partially out of order. Everything works fine except the 2 clock displays.

Astral (SciSys)

The Scisys Astral is identical to the Turbo 16K.
But it's a nice game in wood. From far away, it looks like the
Saitek Corona but it is smaller and it's not an auto-response board
: you have to push the squares to indicate the moves.

The Scisys MK 12 is from 1986. It was a mass market device on a limited hardware:
a 0,6 MHz processor (!).

In 1987, you could read in Jeux et Stratégie n°48 "to much weak for the price". But despite these
comments, it was a commercial success.
It later became black and white and was
handovered by Scisys.

There are only 8 game levels (including an unlimited one), the take back function only
works for 2 half moves, it's not possible to enter a position but it includes 8
studying positions. See this test game.

MK12 Trainer (Saitek)

The Saitek MK 12 Trainer is from 1990. it looks like the Scisys except its black and white colour.
The text on the top of the chessboard is identical: Chess Coash Opponent MK12. The "MK12 trainer" reference is indicated
on a label on the rear side.

The software is a bit better: the processor speed is now 1MHz;
There are 16 game levels including 7 for beginners (fun levels), a take back function on 6 half moves ans still 8 studying
positions. The box also includes a booklet in English: Easy Steps to Winning Chess.
Here is a test game.

Super 1680L (Tandy)

The Tandy Super 1680L is from 1991. It looks like a 90° turned MK12.
The software is probably a vriant of the Saitek MK12 trainer. It also has 16 game levels including 7 for beginners but
there are no studying positions.

The Saitek MK 14 Trainer is from 1994. It's a variant of the MK 12 trainer. The software is
using a processor at 1MHz, a ROM memory of 7740 bytes and a RAM of 176 bytes. It's a game for beginers, with
fun levels and 8 position to study.

The Chess Shadow is from 1990. It's a variant of the MK 12 trainer, on a 2 MHz processor.

The pieces symbols on the LCD screen are simplistic. The main required functions are available:
take back on 6 half moves, beep sound at each move, display constrast tuning,
game saved in memory when the game is switched off.

The Saitek Chess Companion III is from 1986. It also existed under the brand name Scisys.
At that time, it was the middle price device with a 8MHz processor and a 16K software.
It also existed as travel game under the name express 16K and then was accelerated to 12 Mhz under the names
Turbo 16K and Astral. The package and the name look like the Scisys Chess Companion II
but the hardware and the software from Kaare Danielsen was very different.
Here is a test game.

Tandy 1850

The Tandy 1850 is from 1987. It's a clone of the Saitek Chess Companion III with a grey
design. It also existed as travel game under the name
Saitek Express 16K. It was later accelerated under the names Turbo 16K, Astral et Turbo 24K.

Jeux et Stratégie wrote in 1987: a success, a nice device that plays properly.
Here is a test game.

Team Mate (Saitek)

The "Team Mate" was the middle class device proposed by Saitek end 1988.
It was later sold under the name
Team Mate Advanced Trainer. It contains a
16K program from Julio Kaplan on a 6301 / 8MHz processor, with an opening library of 5000 half moves.
The same program was distributed on a travel chess board (Cavalier , Portable Advanced Trainer) and with a faster processor
(12 MHz) on the Conquistador and Astral models. It's a Chess Computer designed for young players who want to progress. It
plays a lot of variants so a young player can progress without being dismotivated.
The game is sold with an interesting book based on 8 grand master games with comments
and 64 key positions where you have to find the next move.
The processor is a bit slow and it clearly plays a better game at around 15 mn / move.
A test game showing its general level. and
a lost game against the Fidelity Excellence.

Conquistador (Saitek)

The Conquistador is a Team Mate with a faster processor (12MHz) and a double display used mainly
as chess clock .

The "Yeno 416 XL" was packaged for players who wants to learn. In theory, it contains a 250 pages book with
320 exercises on 40 different games visible on this picture. But in this game for sale, the
book is missing and the user manual is a copy.

This game was produced in 1989 and it seems to be the successor of the "Team Mate Advanced Trainer":
there are similarities in the packaging, It's also a 16K ROM program on a "HD 6301 Y" / 8 MHz processor. The Ram is 256 bytes.
The opening library contains 2000 moves.
It's still today a good computer to learn chess.Here are
a funny game with a chaotic opening and
2 variants of my usual test game.

Chess Champion 2150 (Tandy)

The Chess Champion 2150 is probably the last software realized by Julio Kaplan. It's a machine
dérived from the Saitek Simultano. Its external design is similar to the
Chess Champion 2150L one but it includes a different hardware and software.

The software is presented as rated 2150 ELO but in reality, it is 1750 ELO, and that's
already not so bad.

The Saitek Corona is probably the most mature software of Julio Kaplan. it's also a pretty machine, very nice
to use. it was published in 1988.
It's a real sensitive chessboard: no need to push the squares, the movements are detected by Magnetic sensors.
The Saitek Strategy was at that time to develop programs based on good positions. The developments were conducted by the
Junior World Champion 1967 Julio Kaplan.In the Saitek Catalogue, there was: "more agressives openings and a better position science".
The device can also store around 100 games (3400 half moves). They can be replayed. It's also possible
to search for games using a position. This memory can also be used for its own opening library.

It's a strong program of 64KO running on a 65c02 5MHz, probably very similar to the Saitek Simulatno,
with a huge opening library of 100000 half moves. In the Saitek Catalogue was written "more agressive openings and
a better psotion science." However, I found a weakness in the algorithm as you can see
this test game.. But do not underestimate the strength of this game as you can
see in this almost similar test game. where I really had grat problems.

My game has the wooden frame a little bit damaged on the top left. However, it is one of my TOP-5 preferred
computer chess. It has a very nice game style in the mid game developments.

Galileo analyst C (Saitek)

End 1986, Scisys published this very nice wooden board under the name
Leonardo
with a 6301Y 12 MHz processor, 24K ROM & 8.25 K RAM.
Nothing to do with Leonardo da Vinci, it was a tribute to a 16th Century player
Leonardo Di Bona.
In 1988, the same chessboard was renamed Galileo. The main hardware was a bit improved:
It was still a 6301Y at 12Mhz but with 32K ROM & 8.25 Ko RAM.

The game was very nice but it only had 2 series of led (horizontal and vertical)
and no screen. In 1989, the Galileo was replaced by the
Renaissance, with one led per square
and a lcd display.

The Leonardo Galileo and Renaissance are modular games and this Galileo includes the
module Analyst C 8 MHz (that also adds a lcd display).
The module includes its own processor and software. It is installed on the side and complete the main software
without replacing it: some levels are using the main hardware; some other are using the module.
The basic Leonardo and Galileo included an average software, rated 1550 ELO. The Analyst module serie (A B C D)
was using a 6502 processor (4 6 8 and 10 MHz). The game level was improved to around 1750 ELO, with a very nice
game style. Later, this chessboard also included 2 other very strong modules:
The Saitek Sparc (2225 ELO, developed by Dan & Kathe Spracklen) and Brute Force
(2018 ELO, developed by Frans Morsch).

In the Jeux et Stratégie N° 8 and 12 (1981), you can read: High technology: unusual sensor LCD screen: you just
have to touch the starting and the ending square on the screen. The opening library is big and well made. It can solve the mate
in 7. Some weaknesses in finales.

However, this high technology was not reliable and this LCD screen had a short life expectency.
So all the Novag Savant are now out of order.

Constellation 3.6 MHz (Novag)

In Jeux et Strategie N° 29 (oct 1984), it was written: the Constellation 3.6 offers the best value for the money
with its price of 2250F. Especially, it's very efficient in mid game combinations. In our tests, the Constellation 3.6 is the best on
6 problems / 9 . Impressing.
My personnal opinion is more moderate: in this test game, it is missing agressivity.

It was not a beautiful machine but it was a good marketing concept. Novag had understood the market need for very
strong machines with an optimized price.

Super Constellation (Novag)

The Super Constellation is from 1984. At that time, it was simply the best software in the world in a
modest look. It was also well known for its human game style. It is rated around 1750 ELO.

This game is a bit damaged: the Super Constellation text is erased on the metal bar.

In Jeux et Stratégie N° 48 (dec 1987), there was an article about the chess computers between 300 and 2000F
(45 - 300 euros), with the following comments on the le Novag VIP:
"Probably the most interesting of all the games tested. This pretty "calculette" with 24 keys plays well and include a lot of functions.
Opening library of 2000 moves, 48 game levels. 1300F. very good price for such quality."
The Novag Primo includes the same software inside a table chess board.

In fact and as you can see in this test game, the game level is far behind
the Novag Ruby's one. But the Super VIP was compatible with the wooden
Novag Universal Electronic
Chess board. This possibility was removed for the Ruby (but existed again on the Sapphire
and the Sapphire 2).

Supremo (Novag)

The Novag Supremo was published in 1988. It was available for 1750F (260 euros) and Jeux et Stratégie wrote:
"A good success for a correct price. Program derived from the Super Constellation with less opening and finales algorithms.
One of the best value for the money in the market".

The software used 32K ROM and
2K RAM on a 6301Y processor at 8MHz. The opening library includes more than 15000 half-moves.
The cable on the picture is an adapter for the Novag printer.
Here is a test game..

Mentor 16 (Novag)

The Novag Mentor 16 was published in 1989. It's an evolution of the Novag Supremo, that was published in 1988
and had only one LCD screen.
It contains a 16K program on a 8 bits/8MHz processor and an opening library of 8000 half moves. The same program
was used at that time on the mid price Novag Chess computers, including the VIP and reused a lot later. It was evaluated around 1400 ELO,
as the processor
was a little bit slow. It includes a special button to solve mate until mate in 5. I tried one problem but it did not solve it.

It is not very good but I really like its game style, for instance
in this test game.

Constellation Expert (Novag)

The Novag Constellation Expert is a variant of the Super Constellation in a wooden auto-response board
. There was not any display yet and some functions like the position evaluation were available only with the printer.

The Novag Super Expert series was produced during 4 years: Super Expert in 1987,
Super Expert B in 1988,
Super Expert C in 1989 and a new generation Super Expert C in 1990.
The Novag Super Expert B adds many imorvements to the Super Expert. It wins more than 100 ELO
to reach a score of around 2000 ELO - very similar to the Super Expert C.

The Novag Super Expert C (1989) is the chef d'oeuvre of David Kittinger. It's one of the best and one of the last software
published on a 8 bits processor (6502 6MHz, around 2000 ELO).

This game is like new: It was allmost never used and was kept well protected.

It has a very nice game style, an unusal and very complete opening library and it is strong in finales
with its "Selective Search" algorithm. Here is a test game.

Diablo 68000 (Novag)

The Diablo is from 1991. It's a Novag Super Expert variant ported on a 16 bits 68000 processor.
It's the srongest chess software from this serie - around 2100 ELO. But in 1991, this kind of expensive game was
not easy to sell (around 1000 euros in France) - especially on a market dominated by Mephisto.
It also existed as plastic box under the name Scorpio.

It has a very nice and agressive game style. But it does not react properly to the pawn h attack
during this test game.

Novag Printer

The Novag Printer works with the 3 wooden electronic chess above.
It prints positions, list of moves, evaluations etc.

The 24 Volts power supply is plugged on the chessboard, near the other power supply.

Frans Morsch

Mondial II (Mephisto)

In Décember 1985, Frans Morsch appeared for the first time in an article of
Jeux et Stratégie titled:
Mephisto attacks on all the fronts: "From the Dutch Frans Morsch (
newcomer in the small closed world of programmers who sell their work): Mona installed inside the
Mephisto Mondial 16Kb of ROM, 6502 processor, it has more or less the same strength as the
Sensory 9 and the Constellation. As it should cost only 1900F, here is a small chess computer
with an excellent value for the price. Because the Mephisto Mondial has many qualities: sensory board
with 16 leds and 16 keys, 8 game levels, 7 problem levels (very efficient and able to give different solutions
when there are some), takeback until... 104 moves, display of the analyse depth,
Work on battery or plugged. There are less defaults: Clear weakness in finales and difficulty
to visualise moves due to the coordinate system."

The Mephisto Europa is a variant of the Mephisto Mondial II published end 1987. It's a game for learning and it includes
the different functionalities of the Mephisto Mondial. But it includes less memory (16K instead of 32).

The game is rated around 1700 ELO but an attentive good player should have no difficulty to beat it.
Here is my test game.
It's a strategical demonstration against such mid level software.

Marco Polo (Mephisto)

The Mephisto Marco Polo is a travel game variant of the Mephisto Europa published end 1987.

The Mephisto Europa A Schachschule is a new packaging in 1990 of the Mephisto Europa.
It includes a black chessboard, transport briefcase, Schachschule (chess school) on the box, and a
booklet to learn chess (here in German and French).

The Mephisto Manhattan is from 1993. It succeded to the Mephisto Europa.
It looks very similar but the exercise book is missing. So the "book button" is removed.
The user guide is now in 6 languages with the add-on of Italian and Dutch.

It's an intersting software because it has a good level for average players and also
dedicated levels for beginners. But the design is not nice and it is a bit small.
Here is a test game.

Modena (Mephisto)

This Mephisto Modena was published in 1991 (see the logo "worldchampion 1991" on the box).
It's a weak hardware: a 6502 at 4 MHz but with 32Kb of memory for a strong optimized software
(1900 ELO). The gamebox design was later reused for very good software in a cheap package : the Milano, Milano Pro, Atlanta,
Berlin and Berlin pro.

The Chess Champion 2150L was published in 1992 and was similar to the Saitek Prisma from 1990 (and to the
program of the Saitek Kasparov Blitz). It's in fact a Tandy model exported in UK, Belgium, Nederland and France with a "GO" logo.
It succeeded to the Chess Champion 2150 (Saitek Simultano, 1988). The visual difference
is very small but the content is really different: new processor risc H8-10MHz faster than the previous 65c02 5MHz.
In the Saitek catalogue, there was: "a new 32K percuting programme to solve rapidly problems".
In fact, Julio Kaplan left Saitek in 1990 and the 2150L contains a new generation software. It was probably developped by
Frans Morsch (but it's not sure).
It's a 32K program of good level (around 1700 ELO), with an opening library of 6000 half moves.
The LCD chess board, above the keyboard, shows the current position and the one analyzed by the computer.
It was sold around 150$.
Here is a test game that was not easy.

Saitek Kasparov Blitz

The Saitek Kasparov Blitz has an unusual design. There is no keyboard and the different options are
selected using 2 small wheels on the game side. It's not necessary to press the squares, the pieces are
automatically detected. But it's not with magnets: the system is using small metallic rings under each pieces.

The game is similar to the
Chess Champion 2150L but with a bigger opening library of 17000 half moves.
Here is a test game.

GK2000 (Saitek)

The Saitek GK2000, published in 1992 and evaluated 1900 ELO i still today a good program for a club player.
It's a variant of the Fritz program, with an algorithm called
"selectable search strategy" and a
RISC processor at 10 MHz. Its game style has some similarities with the Tandy 2150L, see this test game.
This program will be followed by several variants and enhancements,
including the GK2100 on a processor 2 time faster.

Master 2200X (Radioshack)

The Master 2200x is from 1996 but it is clearly a GK2000 clone.

As indicated on the device, there are several options to support variants in the game style:
2 algorithms "Selective Search" and "Brute Force", one "easy mode" and also 4 options
on the opening libraries: passive, active, complete and tournament.

Here is a test game.
I had difficulties to play my usual opening. Most of the time, it answered c7c5 after my d2d4.

Virtuoso (Saitek)

This Virtuoso is from 1992. The game is a bit small (around 30x30cm), the pieces and the boardgame
frame are in wood,
The boardgame middle is in plastic with wood colours (so you can push on each square to indicate the moves).
This design is similar to the Saitek Capella (also called Schach Trainer) that contained a
16K / 10 MHz / 1800 ELO software.
This Virtuoso is a bit faster: 16MHz, with an opening library of 2000 half moves and an estimated level of
1900 ELO.

This Saitek Kasparov Schach-Trainer was included in a special edition for the world championship of 1995.
In 1994, Saitek bought Hegener & Glaser (who owned Mephisto), so the game was distributed in a box with both names
Saitek and H&G but without any reference to Mephisto. The game had no English name. The user manual was in German, French and
Dutch. In 2003, Saitek distributed another Mephisto Chess Trainer but it was a different game.

This game is a variant of the Virtuoso/Turbo Advanced Trainer with a bigger opening library.

You can compare this test game with the Virtuoso's one. It's clearly the same
software.

GK2100 (Saitek)

The Saitek GK2100 is an improved GK2000 from 1993.
It's a very good software - around 2000 ELO.

Saitek is still selling this game - but with a different design:
the Saitek Centurion and today Saitek Chess Challenger.

For H&G, Ed Schröder firest developped on the Exclusive chess board the MM-IV in 1987. The MM-IV
was also distributed as a lower price under the name of Monte-Carlo: an auto-response wooden board.
A game with the Monte Carlo

The MM-V was published in 1990. It was the last software from the 6502 5 MHz serie.
It succeeded to the MM-IV and
is different from the Polgar,
in the user interface aspect and also probably in the game style.

It has an ELO level of 2000 and that's a performance on a first generation processor.

In 1988, one year after the arrival of the MM-IV, a German company realized
a Turbo Kit to accelerate the MM-IV with a 16MHz processor instead of 5MHz. The benefit was 150 ELO (from 1984 to 2121).
The MM-V and the MM-IV had some compatible hardware and here you have an unofficial module that includes the
MM-IV turbo accelerated to 18MHz, its opening library HG-440 and also a MM-V / HG-550 at 18MHz.
A small switch behind the module is used to change from one software to the other.

Both software won tactical force keeping their game style. The MM-IV and the MM-V are quite
different in game style. I replayed the MM-IV test game on the turbo and the difference was small: 2 switched answers (move 7 and 8)
and only one different move in the end of the opening (knight in c6 instead of d7). The MM-V turbo played differently
at the 3rd move so I played
a new test game. It's a very high level software.

Mephisto MM-IV MM-V Turbo 10 MHz

Here you have another unofficial MM-IV & MM-V turbo module with an embedded opening library module.
This one is at 10 MHz, 2 time faster than the original module. A small switch behind the module is used to change
from one software to the other.

The MM-V here accelerated at 10 MHz is one of my favourite chess software with a very human style
in the middle game. Here is
a test game ŕ 3mn par coup.

Mephisto Risc II

The Mephisto Polgar was already very good on a weak processor. When it was adapted to a Risc
processor that was a lot more powerful, it became world champion in 1991. The module was called Risc 1MB
(in fact, it has 128Kb of Rom and 1Mb of Ram). 2 releases existed: Risc and Risc II a bit stronger.
This software is also known under the name
Gideon. The module looks like the Polgar. The power adapter is plugged directly on the module. The hardware is
fragile. Sometime, it has difficulties to switch on and it's important to use the original power adaptor.

This game was sold inside its business case with the logo Mephisto:

I first had the Risc 1. I did have great difficulties to beat it during
this test game.. When I received the Risc II, I first replayed the same game
where it played differently: the game style is very different, mainly around the way to play the Queen.

CXG mainly produced low cost chess games. But they also designed a set of nice wooden games visible on
this photo page on flickr.

The CXG Chess 3000 is from 1986.
It is based on a 16Kb software on a 6MHz Z80 processor.
The programmer is ... Richard Lang ... and this is a software derived from the CXG Chess 2001,
its first electronic chess game available on the market in 1983.
It is not very strong (1570 elo) but it plays a nice game style and it is not so easy to beat when the average time is
3mn30 per move. See a test game.

Mephisto Roma II (68000)

The Roma II (1989) is a Mephisto/Richard Lang software from the famous "world champion" serie,
published by H&G
(Hegener & Glaser). There was in fact 2 software generations: the first between
1985 ŕ 1988 (Amsterdam/Dallas/Roma) and a new software after 1988
(Almeria, Portorose, Lyon, Vancouver).

The Roma II is a lightly downgraded Roma 68000 (10 MHz instead of 12 MHz).
It was a bit weaker but was compatible with the travel game Mephisto Mobil LCD.

After the Roma, the software "world champion"
was rewritten following the state of the art rules of software programming to improve the level of functionality,
the game level and to ease any further enhancement.
Here is a test game: It has some difficulty to see risk situations
after 4 or 5 moves in advance.

Mephisto Montreal 68000

The Mephisto Montreal 68000 is from 1993. It includes a variant of the Mephisto Roma
with a better way to display game levels: alphanumeric instead of numbers.

The chessboard looks like a Mephisto Exclusive but the module is fixed.
This chessboard is a bit damaged in the middle squares.
Here is a test game

Mephisto Almeria 16 bits

The Almeria (1988) is the first software by Richard Lang from the second "world champion" serie.

Here it's the 16 bits release inside a Mephisto Exclusive board.
It's a very strong player - with a very nice game style -more than 2000 ELO
but its hardware is limited compared to the one of the real turnament machine used in Almeria.
This turnament machine is rated more than 2250 ELO.

It's a very strong software (around 2100 ELO). Here is a test game showing well its
game style: some unusual openings, a powerful middle game and some small weaknesses in finales.

Mephisto Lyon 16 bits

The Lyon (2100 ELO) succeeded to the Portorose in 1990. The 1990 world championship was
in France and this game was probably targeted for the French market, usually sold with a user manual in French and German.
But this game includes the Vancouvers manual, in English and German.

Theorically, it's a software very similar to the Vancouver one. So I replayed the 2 games already won against
the Vancouver and there are only small differences. In
the first game at 2 mn per move, the game was identical until the move 29,
that was a desesperate move because the Lyon was begining to lose. In
the second game at 3 mn per move, the game was identical only until the move 12,
in the end of the opening phase and of course, the follow up was different.

I also started to replay the game against the Mephisto Portorose 32 bits
but I found also small differences: in the opening (move 3) then at the 11th move.

Mephisto Vancouver 68000 (16 bits)

The Vancouver (1991) is the last Mephisto software from the famous "world champion" serie published by H&G (Hegener & Glaser).
H&G bankrupted and was bought by Saitek in 1994. And in 1996, another variant
became world champion and was distributed under the name London.
The world champion serie is the result of a teamwork: a software from Richard Lang,
a huge opening library developped by Ossi Weimer, tests made by strong players and of course a powerfull hardware.
From the start, the world champion serie was available on a powerfull hardware
at an expensive price. This Vancouver module is the lower cost 16 bit release on a 68000 12MHz, rated 2100 ELo.
It was also available on a 68020 (32 bits), rated 2160 Elo and on a 68030 36 MHz, rated 2230 Elo (the one
used for the world championship). The electronic board looks very clean.

It's my prefered software because it has a very nice playing style and because it's a very good tool to learn.
I found an opening with a very small white advantage, so I was able to beat him in these 2 test games:
Game 1 (2mn per move) and Game 2 (3mn per move).
When it attacks, it takes some risks and when the opposite player is able to find the best defense, he can step by step
build an advantage. Of course, it's easier when he cheats using the take back function (so easy to use).

The Mephisto Berlin Pro is in the
top 20 of the best eletronic chess games in the world (2226 ELO). It's a game in the middle of the Vancouver 32 bits and
the Mephisto Genius 68030: It's an improved release of the Vancouver with a faster processor (24 Mhz instead of 12)
and a bigger opening library. It's a downgraded release of the Genius 68030 because the processor is a 68020.

It's a very strong software, very agressive, but I found a weakness
in this test game.

Mephisto Berlin (68000)

The Mephisto Berlin is the young brother of the Berlin Pro.
With a smaller processor, 2 time slower, it lost around 100 ELO but remained very strong (around 2150 ELO).

It's a very good software, with many options varrying the game style.This time I tested the option
to open the collumn in front of the h rook by doubling the pawns in g. Here is
this test game.

Mephisto London 68020

The best "Mephisto Exclusive" module from Richard Lang was the Genius 68030. The same software was also
available as upgrade for the
Vancouver/Lyon 68000 and 68020 under the name "London upgrade". Here you have a London 68020 at 12 MHz and this is a very strong
software - 2200 ELO -
with a very nice game style.
Here is a test game with a nice duel queen against rook + pawn.

Mephisto Genius 99 (CD-ROM)

In 1998, the name of Mephisto was used for a PC software. It was a program from
Richard Lang and it was designed by a company called "Lang Software, England". In Germany, it was translated and distributed by
"Millennium 2000 GmbH, München".

This CD-ROM came from Germany. the software is in English or German. It was designed for a PC 386 under Windows 3.1,
95 and 98. It still works today without problem on the most recent PC. It's a complete program, with 230000 master games, hashtables etc.

It was designed to be connected to the auto-response boards Mephisto-PC (or TASC Smartboard)

Ronald C. Nelson

Gambit (Fidelity)

Ron Nelson realized the first Chess Challengers. When the game level raised, around 1982,
he stopped to develop chess software. But there was probably stocks of the Chess Challenger 8 "The classic"
because in the end
of the 80s, this software was repackaged in lower cost games.

The Gambit is derived from the Chess Challenger 8 - similar to "the classic" -
but it was published in 1987.
It's still a weak software,
as you can see in this test game.

Designer 1500 (Fidelity)

The Designer 1500 is in a nice package, designed by
Franco Rocco.
To my mind, it's the most beautiful of the designer serie.

In Jeux et Stratégie n°54 (1988), the comment was: "Nice design
but with the Chess Challenger 8 program. We do not understand why Fidelity did not chose a better
program for such a low price computer chess."

Ron Nelson is first of all famouse because he created the first Chess Challengers. But he is also
today VP Engineering for Excalibur Electronics. He reused the Fidelity Phantom patent on this Excalibur Mirage from 1997.
It is the last chess robot realised until today. it moves itself its pieces.
It is well known to be fragile and to have some minor bugs. Mine works well except the LCD screen that is very uncomplete:

Excalibur computer chess are mainly distributed in the USA. But this one is European with an English package
but a user manual in English, French and German. The French translation is understandable but a bit funny:
setting up special positions is translated by something like "reordering special constellation". This game is rated 1750 elo.
It's an interesting player because it has his own style, very different from the other machines and I suffered a lot
during this test game. To my mind, 1750 Elo seems to be underestimated. It's perhaps linked
to weaknesses in finales or to a specific strength on my specific d2d4 opening.
Also, This game is nice for very young players because they can easily beat it at level 1.